The Red Tower of Planas and Casals (Cerdanyola del Vallès)

The Red Tower is a characteristic building of the first modernism developed around the Universal Exhibition of Barcelona in 1888, which maintains some classic details of the 19th century architecture. It is one of the most representative and emblematic of modernism in Cerdanyola and is included in the PEPPAAC with inventory number 42 with protection level 1 Strict conservation (the maximum level of protection contemplated in the catalogue).

Until now, the information we had about his authorship was that Carles Buïgas attributed the house to his father, the architect Gaietà Buïgas. That said, the house has obvious links with the work of the early Domènech i Muntaner, especially with the Casa Roura in Canet de Mar and with the Castle of the Three Dragons (but the style does not quite fit, since it was more exuberant). The author of the first reform of the building (PHASE 2) could have been the architect Eduard Maria Balcells Buïgas, municipal architect of Cerdanyola and nephew of Gaietà Buïgas, who would have respected the unitary aspect of the exterior.

Now this September 2021 and after the search for information carried out to nurture this website we know that the project was presented by Domingo Balet at the Universal Exhibition of Chicago in 1893, obtaining a gold medal and also at the Third Exhibition of Fine Arts and Industries Artists of Barcelona to 1896.

One more example of authorship is the recent discovery of a stylistic element that we saw on our first visit to the house. The Gothic typography used in the letters of the four cardinal points of the weather vane on the roof, we could say that it is the same as the one in one of the Master Builder's original bookstores with the initial "B" for Balet, as and as can be seen in the following comparative image.

The Red Tower was built around 1879 by the brothers Manuel, José María and Marcel Planas y Casals, members of a prominent family of lawyers and politicians from Barcelona. The summer tower is a two-story building with a semi-basement, made of red bricks that give it the peculiar appearance that has given the house its name.

Although it was divided into two halves, it seems that originally it was a unitary building oriented perpendicular to the street and with doors on the sides and at the back. However, as a result of several studies and tastings, it is evident that despite the unitary aspect that it offers, it is the result of several extensions, for which the current rectangular floor plan and the current fragmented distribution do not respond to the original. The semi-basement floor delimits the original perimeter, so it is most likely that initially the building did not have the two rooms at the corners of the south façade, or that they were smaller. A priori, three main phases could be delimited:

PHASE 1: Ca. 1879

Construction of the building with an irregular floor plan and unitary distribution. Various interior elements would be preserved, such as the chimneys, service staircase, some flooring, and parquet, wooden railing and door with acid-etched glass in the living-dining room.

FASE 2: Ca. 1910

Division of the building into two houses, extension of the south façade, redistribution of the interior with the construction of a new kitchen on the west side and redistribution of the main staircase, fragmentation of the garden with double access from the fence and incorporation of modernist pavements in the first floor of the east band.

PHASE 3: Anys 30 i 40 del segle XX.

Reforms of art deco bathrooms (with the closure of two windows that overlooked the porches), flooring and other spaces and interior elements.

Actually:

The ground floor has a rectangular structure and the first floor has a Latin cross plan. On the façade, the two levels are divided by a frieze of pyramidal prisms and brick denticulate. Following the rectangular perimeter of the ground floor, the staggered battlements stand out. The first floor is covered with a gabled roof with a ridge ridge and the transept is finished off with a weather vane representing a dragon. The four facades are crowned with stepped pediments. At the back of the building is an octagonal tower. The openings of the house are linteled with a Gothic frame and medallions with classical reliefs can be found on the façade.

Location: Calle de Sant Ramon, 124, Cerdanyola del Vallés

Source: Museo de Arte de Cerdanyola - Txema Romero